Why are motorcycle transmissions designed with first gear down and the rest up so that you pass neutral going from first to second and when downshifting from second to first?

Question

Is there something inherently beneficial in this design or is it more of a holdover from old designs?

In: Engineering

Answer 1

My first bike was all one direction. Up for going up. Down for down. All the way down was neutral.

Not all bikes have this shift pattern. There are quite a few different patterns on bikes from the 70-90s.